In Indian cinema, heroines as controversial as Rekha are rare. Rekha’s life, which moved more dramatically than the movie, remains fascinating for fans. Rekha is the daughter of yesteryear superstar Gemini Ganesan. But he wasn’t ready to accept Rekha as her daughter. Rekha was raised by her mother Pushpavalli. In the early days when she entered the film industry, Rekha did not openly discuss her family’s background anywhere.
All this information comes out in the mid-seventies. Two children, Radha and Rekha, were born to Pushpavalli and Gemini Ganesan. Gemini Ganesan, who was estranged from Pushpavalli, completely neglected his children when they were little. Later, Rekha grew to become a featured heroine and the distance from her father decreased. Like Rekha, her sister Radha was a well-known star in the spotlight. Radha was a prominent model of that era. She has also acted in some Tamil movies.
Radha loved modeling more than movies. Radha got a chance to enter the Hindi film industry but she Radha was not ready for it. Radha was first considered for Rajkumar’s leading man, Bobby. But Radha was not ready to accept this offer. Eventually, Dimple Kapadia became the female lead for Bobby. The movie became a super hit. Perhaps Radha would have become the main heroine of Bollywood if she had done this movie.
Radha left her career in 1981, got married and went to the United States. Radha married her childhood friend Usman Saeed. Usman Saeed is the son of the famous director SM Abbas. Radha and Usman Saeed have two children. Today they are also married and live as a family.
Apart from Radha, Rekha has several half-siblings. Rekha’s father, Gemini Ganesan, had more than one partner. Gemini Ganesan had four daughters from his first wife. Rekha’s mother, actress Pushpavalli, was Gemini Ganesan’s girlfriend. He was not ready to marry Pushpavalli. Later, the actress Savitri entered the life of the star. They married. From this relationship a son and a daughter were born.
On the other hand, Rekha’s mother Pushpavalli married cinematographer K Prakash after breaking up with Gemini Ganesan. They also had children named Dhanalakshmi and Seshu. Pushpavalli dies in 1991. Five years after Pushpavalli’s death, the distance between Rekha and her father, Gemini Ganesan, had narrowed.
Amma Pushpavalli is also the reason why Rekha entered the film industry. When the family faced financial problems, her mother suggested that she enter the acting field. Although she acted as a child actress, she Rekha did not want to make movies in her career. But as per her mother’s wish, she Rekha decided to drop out of her studies at the age of thirteen and pursue acting as a career.
Rekha created a huge string of hits. Many of Rekha’s characters remain iconic even today. The actor has stayed away from the movie industry for the past few years.
Story first published: Thursday, June 29, 2023 4:21 PM [IST]
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